Anil Agarwal to set up $10 billion LCD panel plant in Maharashtra

Agarwal said the company would try to make India a major export hub for display units.

Anil Agarwal, chairman of Vedanta Resources, will invest $10 billion (Rs 68,000 crore) to set up the country's first LCD panel manufacturing plant in Maharashtra.

Twinstar Display Technologies, a new company promoted by Vedanta's subsidiary Volcano Investments, will make the investment to build the plant, Agarwal said in an interview to The Economic Times.

Agarwal is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra government on the first day of "Make in India" week, which starts on Feb. 13.

"All over the world you see Made-in-China electronics, but India can also manufacture its own electronics," Agarwal said. "We worked with the government and agreed this project has to be a Made-in-India product."

He said the company would try to make India a major export hub for display units with the plant, to be named Panel FAB. At present, India's LCD market relies entirely on imports for its needs.

The plant, which will be set up in Pune or Nagpur, is expected to start production by 2018, reaching full capacity over the next 10 years. The $10-billion investment in the plant will be in five phases.

"This is the time to strike. This is the time to build your capacity because it will be cheaper.This is the time when people and talent are available," said Agarwal.

Maharashtra has recently announced a policy for fabrication units in a bid to boost domestic manufacturing of electronics and cut dependence on imports.